no permanent national government; transitional, parliamentary federal government

Independence date

1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)

1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic)

Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia

Area

131,957 km sq

637,657 km sq

Coastline

13,676 km

3,025 km

Climate

temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons